Fong and Partners Inc., Toronto Licensed InsolvencyTrustee
1007-2 Carlton Street M5B 1J3 Toronto, ON, Canada

!!! . Fong and Partners Inc., Toronto Licensed InsolvencyTrustee is proudly showing off their Threebestrat...ed award. . They were recently recognized as " ." . #ThreeBestRated #bankruptcy #personalbankruptcycanada #Toronto #Canada See more

Fong and Partners was quoted in an article by Daily Hive Toronto on the cost of a single person living a middle-class lifestyle in Toronto https://dailyhive.com//how-much-cost-to-be-middle-class-to

Fong and Partners was quoted in an article by Narcity Toronto on the cost of a single person living a middle-class lifestyle in Toronto

Worried about your finances? Keep calm and carry on with Fong and Partners, one of the Three Best Rated Licensed Insolvency Trustees in Toronto . #personalfinance #toronto #debtfreecommunity #debtfree

In light of what's going on in the financial markets due to the coronavirus, we thought it would be timely to repost this article... #coronavirus #coronavirusnews #stockmarketnews #recession #investing #markets #economy

!!! . Fong and Partners Inc., Toronto Licensed InsolvencyTrustee is proudly showing off their Threebestrat...ed award. . They were recently recognized as " ." . #ThreeBestRated #bankruptcy #personalbankruptcycanada #Toronto #Canada See more

The Personal Bankruptcy Process In 5 Steps. If you share please link back to our site at https://startingovertoronto.com/personal-bankruptcy/ #bankruptcy #bankruptcycanada #personalbankruptcy #personalbankruptcycanada #debtrelief #debtfree #debtfreejourney #creditcards

The cartoonist Scott Adam wrote an article about the concept of the "Talent Stack", which he explains as follows: The idea of a talent stack is that you can combine ordinary skills until you have enough of the right kind to be extraordinary. You don’t have to be the best in the world at any one thing. All you need to succeed is to be good at a number of skills that fit well together. [ 741 more words ] http://stereomonosunday.com/20//31/musicians-talent-stack/

The Consumer Proposal Process In 5 Steps. If you share, please link back to our site at https://startingovertoronto.com/consumer-proposal/ #personalfinance #consumerproposal #licensedinsolvencytrustee #debtrelief

#personalfinance #debtrelief #realestate #debt #toronto #canada #financialcrisis #economy #economics

#personalfinance #financialliteracy

Victor Fong of our firm was quoted in an article entitled "4 Things That Could Go Wrong in the Economy in 2020" published by Gold IRA Guide. #recession #debt #realestate #housing

https://www.startingovertoronto.com//is-there-a-hidden-re/ #realestate #mortgagelending #mortgagebrokers #mortgageindustry #mortgagenews #mortgageloan #housingfinance #realestateinvestment #realestateinvestors #realestateprofessionals #torontorealestate #vancouverrealestate

Why are consumer insolvencies increasing in Canada when the jobless rate is so low? #debt #canada #realestate #financialcrisis

https://www.startingovertoronto.com//preparing-for-the-ne/ #canada #personalfinance #recession #debt #economy

Here's a popular video on YouTube that discusses the quality of today's music compared to that of decades past: The video cites a 2012 study by the Spanish National Research Council that concluded that modern music seems to be getting worse every year. Specifically, the researchers took 500,000 recordings of all genres of music between 1955 - 2010. They ran every single song through a complex set of algorithms. [ 1,613 more word ] http://stereomonosunday.com//23/why-modern-music-is-so-aw/

#personalfinance #personalfinancecanada #credit #creditscore #bankruptcy #consumerproposal

Victor Fong of our firm has written an article for Boomer & Echo, which is Canada's most popular personal finance blog. The article is entitled "Preparing for the Next Recession - A Guide For The Canadian Middle Class".

Ever wonder why Canadian real estate has become so expensive? Here's the answer.... #realestatefinance #realestate #realestateinvestor #realestateprofessionals #canada #financenews #financialnews #personalfinance #financialcrisis #recession

Are you ready for the next recession?

This post has been updated with the most recent real estate data as of August 2019.

I’M BEHIND IN MY CONSUMER PROPOSAL PAYMENTS! A reader asks "I filed a Consumer Proposal back in April where I’ve been paying $175 biweekly. However, I ended up losing my job back in July and the payments after that were coming out of my savings. I am now down to the last $100 to my name, literally.... The next $175 payment is scheduled to be paid in a week’s time, and needless to say, that ain’t going to happen thanks to my broke ass. I filed for Employment Insurance yesterday (I’m stupid and don’t know why I didn’t think of doing it sooner), so there is a possibility it may be approved and I’d get some funds out of that. I have tried so hard to land a new job since July, been on a few interviews, and looks like I may have finally landed a warehouse job pending a successful background check, but I have NO idea how long that whole process is going to take. My question is, if I speak to my Consumer Proposal trustee and explain the situation to her, would there be any way for them to put the next couple of $175 payments on hold until I’m back on my feet again? I realize that worst case scenario I would have to claim bankruptcy and that scares the crap out of meIF it does come to that, would bankruptcy be the end of me and how badly would it affect my life?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our reply Your proposal will only be annulled if you fall three months behind in payments. So long as you’re not three months in arrears your proposal is in good standing. So if your proposal terms were $175 bi-weekly, you’d have to be behind $1,050 in payments before your proposal is annulled (i.e., $175 x 2 x 3 months). Inform your Trustee of your situation so they’ll understand why you may fall behind in your payments. It’s important that you keep them apprised of your situation. Hopefully you can get your EI or new job within the next 90 days so you can catch up on the payments you’ll be missing while waiting for money to come in.

TRANSFERRING A HOME BEFORE BANKRUPTCY A READER ASKS: My father fell critically ill earlier this year. As a result, he is unable to pay his credit cards as he is not working. The bills are very large. He has no financial assets other than his a commercial property (owned outright). What options does he have?... In relation, can the property be sold to my brother and/or proceeds transferred to him (inheritance), then my father proceed to file bankruptcy without repercussions? Here is a breakdown of his finances: $1.2m commercial property owned outright Approx 60-80k in credit card debt only Zero income stream from any source, sadly. My father is not a future planner. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUR RESPONSE: If the property was transferred to your brother or any non-arm’s length party for below its fair market value (let’s say $2.00), that would be considered what is legally known as a Fraudulent Conveyance on the part of your father (if he signs the transfer deed himself) or his POA. It’s considered fraudulent because the intent of the transferor is to keep his assets out of the hands of his creditors. In a non-bankruptcy scenario, the remedy for his creditors if they discovered this transaction (which they can; your father likely would have listed this property as an asset when he applied for these credit accounts and they can always conduct a land registry search to see the transaction) is that they can make an application to the Court and have the transfer set aside, thus bringing the property back to his estate. His creditors can subsequently obtain a Writ of Execution from the Court which would allow the Sheriff to secure the property and sell it, with the sale proceeds going to pay off the debt of the creditor(s) who made the application to Court. In a bankruptcy scenario, when your father (or his POA, who can file bankruptcy on his behalf) signs the bankruptcy paperwork, one of the documents he’ll sign is an Affidavit under oath asking if he sold or transferred any assets within the preceding 5 years. If he answers no, then he would have committed perjury, which is of course a crime. In any event, a Trustee can easily ascertain whether your father transferred any real estate because he can perform a land registry search. Upon discovering the transfer, the Trustee would make an application under the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act to have the Court set the transfer aside. He’d then liquidate the property and distribute the proceeds to your father’s creditors. Any surplus after his fees would be returned to your father (or his Estate). Moreover, your father (or his POA), may face criminal charges for perjury under the Criminal Code and committing an offence under the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act. My advice - don't do it!

Relationship Between Personality Traits and Financial Success - My Observations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During my 20 years as a financial professional and business owner in Toronto, I've gotten to know some very successful people and not so successful people. Here are my observations about the former and the latter within the framework of the Big Five Personality Traits, namely (1) Agreeableness; (2) Conscientiousnes...s; (3) Extraversion; (4) Neuroticism; and (5) Openness to Experience. Agreeableness: "Nice guys finish last" - in my experience, this saying is very true. The "difficult person" is usually going to come out ahead financially because he can negotiate more aggressively in his own best interest, be it a real estate deal, salary negotiation or business deal. He won't be overly concerned about how others perceive him. On the other hand, the "nice guy" is more concerned about being liked by the other party in order to avoid conflict. Conscientiousness: The successful people that I know "mean what they say and say what they mean". That is, if a conscientious person says she's going to do something for you, you can take her word to the bank - you can trust and rely on her to follow through. She's often highly organized. On the other hand, the not so successful people I've known don't always follow through on what they said they'd do. Not so much because of dishonesty on their part. Rather, it's because they're often scatterbrained and disorganized. Extraversion: In my experience, this doesn't appear to have much of an significant impact on financial success. I've known successful introverts (e.g., tech employees and entrepreneurs) and successful extroverts (e.g., salespeople). Neuroticism: Many of the successful people that I've known would be considered "cold-blooded" - they seem to be impervious to stress and anxiety while dealing with high-stress situations (like a demanding job, business negotiation or salary negotiation). I hate using this as an example (because it will piss some people off), but look at someone like Trump and the controversies he's been through: they would have destroyed the career of a "conventional" politician, but he's survived because he just brushes it off; there's a reason why he's a billionaire. On the other hand, the not so successful people I've come across seem to freak out in high stress situations and are easily provoked by them. Openness to Experience: In my experience, this doesn't appear to have much of an significant impact on financial success. However, it does appear to have an impact on the avenue to achieving it. People who are open tend to be more entrepreneurial whereas those who are less open tend to stick with more conventional professions (e.g., law, medicine) or are just content with being employees.

20 YEAR OLD CONSIDERING PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY A READER ASKS: "I messed up big time but I’ve learned a lot of lessons....Continue reading

MY HUSBAND LIED ABOUT $350,000 OF CRA DEBT. WHAT NOW? A READER ASKS: "Hello, we are 37 F+M married in Ontario for 17 years. Teenage kids. I make $70k in a government job with pension. He owns a contracting business that he opened about 15 years ago. We are well known. He is very successful with several great employees and we get a lot of business. After expenses and wages he might clear $100k. We have $109,000 in the bank combined, today."...Continue reading

CONSUMER PROPOSAL CAR OWNERSHIP CONFUSION A READER ASKS: My wife is exploring filing a consumer proposal. We have checked with four insolvency trustee offices. We're confused on vehicle ownership, and we are getting different answers.... 3 years ago, we bought our second car (currently worth 28k). For insurance purposes, I was already the primary driver on the first car, so I was advised that to make her primary, the car should be in her name. At that time, I went ahead and purchased the vehicle and put it in her name. However, I used MY line of credit and MY account to issue the bank draft. Our mutual understanding was that the vehicle is MINE but i gave it to her to drive to pick up kids from school and stuff, and just put it in her name for insurance purposes. I have a paper trail of using my line of credit and making the payment to Honda. My question : do we need to declare this as HER asset? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUR RESPONSE: If we were handling your file, we would disclose to the creditors that although your wife is the legal owner of the vehicle, she's holding it in trust for you. We'd also have your paper trail on file in case your creditors want to verify that you had actually purchased the vehicle with your own money. On this basis, we would recommend to the creditors that they approve your wife's proposal.

"My Wife Has Made a Huge Mistake" A reader describes a serious financial situation concerning his wife... "I’ve always been a debt averse person and very conservative with my money. I don’t make a substantial income I grossed $57,000 in 2018 and support my children (1 year and 5 years) and my wife who is currently a stay at home ma, and a great one at that."...Continue reading

https://www.startingovertoronto.com//my-wife-has-made-a-h/

Click to the link on my Instagram profile and ask your question! . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #personalfinance #debtsnowball #debtfreedom #debtfreeliving #licensedinsolvencytrustee #creditcards #studentloans #toronto #consumerproposalstoronto #bankruptcy See more

I'm Victor Fong, President of Fong and Partners, Licensed Insolvency Trustee. If you have questions about a consumer proposal or bankruptcy, you can Ask Me Anything on Reddit!

Good afternoon friends. If you're a home owner (or are in the market for one) and are concerned about potential flooding issues due to climate change, here is a handy tool published by the Cooperators. Enter the postal code and answer a few questions - it will indicate the property's risk of flooding.... https://water.cooperators.ca/

Did you lose your head paying too much for Toronto real estate? In this video, Victor discusses an article he wrote that addresses the financial consequences of overpaying for real estate and possible solutions. You can read the article here: https://www.startingovertoronto.com//bought-toronto-real-/

Filing for bankruptcy does NOT make your debts go away. In order for your debts to be extinguished in bankruptcy proceedings, you must obtain your discharge. You are required to attend credit counselling and pay any surplus income obligations to your Trustee before you're eligible to be discharged. Upon receiving your discharge, your debts will be extinguished with certain exceptions such as student loans, child support and any court fines & penalties. To view the Government ...of Canada video Victor refers to, see this link: https://www.startingovertoronto.com//understanding-bankru/ See more

When filing for personal bankruptcy in Canada, you may be required to pay surplus income. The concept of surplus income is simple: when a person files for personal bankruptcy his/her creditors are considered "innocent bystanders" - they would never have extended credit if they knew the debtor was going to go bankrupt. Therefore, the debtor is required to repay his/her creditors to the best of his or her ability. The amount repayable will be determined by the debtor's monthly... net income and the number of his/her dependents. You can watch the Government of Canada video Victor refers to here: https://www.startingovertoronto.com//bankruptcy-surplus-i/

Victor discusses a video produced by the Government of Canada that provides an overview of the personal bankruptcy process. There are basically 4 steps in bankruptcy process: 1. You’ll meet with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee to see if bankruptcy is the right option for you. The Trustee will review your income & expenses, your debts and your assets.... 2. Once you file bankruptcy, your creditors are subject to a stay of proceedings. This means that your creditors cannot commence or continue any legal action against you to collect their debts 3. You’ll have to complete certain legal obligations during your bankruptcy, which are explained in the Government of Canada video. 4. You obtain your discharge from bankruptcy and become debt free You can check out the video here: https://www.startingovertoronto.com//what-to-expect-when-/

This is a really useful analysis! :-)

There are significant financial risks in purchasing or selling a condominium assignment. We discuss the implications for the Assignor and Assignee. https://www.startingovertoronto.com//take-caution-when-se/

I recently completed a Reddit AMA on debt and bankruptcy. If you have any questions about this subject, feel free to ask me on Reddit! :-) https://www.reddit.com//i_help_people_file_for_personal_/

https://www.reddit.com//i_help_people_file_for_personal_/

http://www.startingovertoronto.com//tips-to-save-money-in/

https://www.nytimes.com//b/bankruptcy-older-americans.html

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/very-concerning-28-of-canadians

Why are people getting into debt? To give you an idea, here are some American statistics from the Federal Reserve 2000-2018. Median Income +0.01%, Yes this is correct annual median Income is up only $505 this century REPORTED Consumer Prices (CPI) +47.70% ... ACTUAL price increases is the U.S. Median Home Price 98.40% Mortgage Debt Outstanding 99.60% Median Rent 74.40% Groceries 91.90% All Consumer Energy Costs 89.60% Consumer Gasoline Prices 115.30% Heating Oil 151.20% Consumer Electricity 68.20% Personal Health Care 135.60% Consumer Medical Care 89.10% Tuition, school fees, childcare 132.30% Water, Sewer Trash 108.80% Debt Securities and Loans; 152.03% Source: https://peterknightadvisor.com/20//04/us-economic-reality/